Session
Technical Session IX: Advanced Technologies II
Abstract
Swales Aerospace is engaged in the development of a Centralized Thermal Bus (CTB), which stands to significantly increase the capability, flexibility, and scalability of a small or micro-sat bus. The CTB is a multievaporator hybrid loop heat pipe (MEHLHP). It combines the best qualities of both capillary pumped loops and loop heat pipes while improving operational robustness, simplifying mission modes and system deployment/startup. Key benefits of the CTB are: multiple load heat transport, heat load sharing, eliminating thermal attitude constraints, and increasing operational reliability. These capabilities offer the spacecraft bus designer new design solutions. For instance, the CTB enables the designer to package/locate components independently of the thermal design, offering the mechanical designer opportunities to reduce packaging volume and associated mass (Swales’ EO-1 smallsat example will be presented, increasing available payload mass by >18%). In addition, the CTB optimizes the thermal design of the satellite system by sharing the heat loads from components that are powered on with those that are powered off, thus eliminating the majority of survival heaters, switching circuits, and associated thermostats (significantly reducing thermal control power). Key developments (from Space Technology 8 [ST-8] and Swales IR&D) and testbed validation results and progress will be presented in order to familiarize the small/microsat community with this emerging capability. A “Futuresat” analysis of space, surface, and exploration systems provides a suite of application reference missions to enable a full understanding of CTB adaptability.
Presentation Slides
Central Thermal Bus for Micro and Small Satellites: Scalability and Adaptability
Swales Aerospace is engaged in the development of a Centralized Thermal Bus (CTB), which stands to significantly increase the capability, flexibility, and scalability of a small or micro-sat bus. The CTB is a multievaporator hybrid loop heat pipe (MEHLHP). It combines the best qualities of both capillary pumped loops and loop heat pipes while improving operational robustness, simplifying mission modes and system deployment/startup. Key benefits of the CTB are: multiple load heat transport, heat load sharing, eliminating thermal attitude constraints, and increasing operational reliability. These capabilities offer the spacecraft bus designer new design solutions. For instance, the CTB enables the designer to package/locate components independently of the thermal design, offering the mechanical designer opportunities to reduce packaging volume and associated mass (Swales’ EO-1 smallsat example will be presented, increasing available payload mass by >18%). In addition, the CTB optimizes the thermal design of the satellite system by sharing the heat loads from components that are powered on with those that are powered off, thus eliminating the majority of survival heaters, switching circuits, and associated thermostats (significantly reducing thermal control power). Key developments (from Space Technology 8 [ST-8] and Swales IR&D) and testbed validation results and progress will be presented in order to familiarize the small/microsat community with this emerging capability. A “Futuresat” analysis of space, surface, and exploration systems provides a suite of application reference missions to enable a full understanding of CTB adaptability.
